"Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback," Cedric read, then paused. If he was thinking right, that was a type of dragon. Why was there a chapter called after a dragon…unless Harry and Hermione was right about the fact that Hagrid would get a dragon.
Quirrell, however, must have been braver than they'd thought. In the weeks that followed he did seem to be getting paler and thinner, but it didn't look as though he'd cracked yet.
Hermione and Luna thought that there might be something else wrong with him, thought what, they weren't sure.
Every time they passed the third-floor corridor, Harry, Ron, and Hermione would press their ears to the door to check that Fluffy was still growling inside. Snape was sweeping around in his usual bad temper, which surely meant that the Stone was still safe.
"Actually, I've never seen him in a good temper," Cedric commented.
Whenever Harry passed Quirrell these days he gave him an encouraging sort of smile, and Ron had started telling people off for laughing at Quirrell's stutter.
"Somehow, if Hermione's right, then you're probably going to feel really foolish for those actions," Cedric said.
Hermione, however, had more on her mind than the Sorcerer's Stone. She had started drawing up study schedules and color-coding all her notes. Harry and Ron wouldn't have minded, but she kept nagging them to do the same.
"Hermione, nagging a person to act like you isn't nice," Cedric said.
"Yeah, all it's going to do is annoy us," Harry said.
"But…the exams! You really should do that so that you can –" Hermione started.
"Hermione, no offense, but I'm not as conscious as you are about grades, so it really doesn't matter to me," Harry said.
"And I do all right without study schedules," Cedric said. "While some can do that and get good grades, the majority of the students have their owns way of doing things."
"He is right," said Luna. "I don't use study schedules – in fact, I barely study – but I get pretty good grades. Of course, I'm also home-schooled at the moment."
"Hermione, the exams are ages away."
"Ten weeks," Hermione snapped.
"And, while the teachers tend to agree with you, that is considered to be too early by many of the other students, and will most likely make you very unpopular with everyone else," Cedric said.
"That's not ages, that's like a second to Nicolas Flamel."
"Yeah, but we're not over six hundred," Harry said.
"But we're not six hundred years old," Ron reminded her. "Anyway, what are you studying for, you already know it all."
"That kind of is true. You don't need to study for what you already know," Luna said.
"What am I studying for? Are you crazy? You realize we need to pass these exams to get into the second year? They're very important, I should have started studying a month ago, I don't know what's gotten into me…"
"You've been hanging out with Ron and I too much," Harry said.
Unfortunately, the teachers seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Hermione.
"Actually, you're most likely learning things you still need to know," said Cedric. "While not everything appears on the exams, there are things you still need to know by the end of each year. Of course, you don't know what you'll be tested on; since the teachers set it, they probably change it, at least, for the practical side of the test."
They piled so much homework on them that the Easter holidays weren't nearly as much fun as the Christmas ones.
"They haven't been yet," said Cedric.
It was hard to relax with Hermione next to you reciting the twelve uses of dragon's blood or practicing wand movements. Moaning and yawning, Harry and Ron spent most of their free time in the library with her, trying to get through all their extra work.
"And just think: as the years go on, you get to do more and more work," said Cedric cheerfully. Harry looked horrified, while Hermione looked excited. It was hard to tell what Luna thought; she looked as she usually did, though the look in her eyes matched the excitement Hermione felt.
"I'll never remember this," Ron burst out one afternoon, throwing down his quill and looking longingly out of the library window. It was the first really fine day they'd had in months. The sky was a clear, forget-me-not blue, and there was a feeling in the air of summer coming.
"The outside's teasing us, isn't it?" Harry said.
Harry, who was looking up "Dittany" in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, didn't look up until he heard Ron say, "Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?"
"That is a good question," Cedric said; he'd never heard of an instance where Hagrid was in the library.
Hagrid shuffled into view, hiding something behind his back. He looked very out of place in his moleskin overcoat.
"Jus' lookin'," he said, in a shifty voice that got their interest at once. "An' what're you lot up ter?" He looked suddenly suspicious. "Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?"
"No, we found him a while ago," said Harry.
"Oh we found out who he is ages ago," said Ron impressively. "And we know what that dog's guarding, it's the Sorcerer's St-"
"Not smart. I mean, did you just forget caution once you found him?" Cedric said, shaking his head. If they were just going to blurt it out, then they needn't have been so careful while looking for it earlier.
"Shhhh!" Hagrid looked around quickly to see if anyone was listening. "Don' go shoutin' about it, what's the matter with yeh?"
"Even Hagrid's scolding you for it," Hermione said; it wasn't her who was blurting it out, after all.
"There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact," said Harry, "about what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy –"
"Harry, when Hagrid tells Ron not to say anything, it's not an invitation for you to stay something," Luna said.
"SHHHH!" said Hagrid again. "Listen – cone an' see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin', mind, but don' go rabbitin' about it in here, students aren' s'pposed ter know. They'll think I've told yeh –"
"He kind of did, in a roundabout way," Hermione said. "I mean, it was his information that we began looking for Flamel in the first place."
"See you later, then," said Harry.
Hagrid shuffled off.
"What was he hiding behind his back?" said Hermione thoughtfully.
"Do you think it had anything to do with the Stone?"
"I doubt it," Cedric said. "I really don't see Hagrid being interested in it."
"I'm going to see what section he was in," said Ron, who'd had enough of working. He came back a minute later with a pile of books in his arms and slammed them down in the table.
"Dragons!" he whispered. "Hagrid was looking up stuff about dragons! Look at these: Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland; From Egg to Inferno, A Dragon Keeper's Guide."
"I guess we should just call you and Hermione the winners of that bet, then," Cedric said, looking at the two of them. It took them awhile to remember what he was talking about.
"It looks like whoever sent us here agrees as well," Luna said, her eyes on the bet paper, which showed Harry and Hermione as the winners of that bet.
"Hagrid's always wanted a dragon, he told me so the first time I ever met him," said Harry.
"But it's against our laws," said Ron. "Dragon breeding was outlawed by the Warlocks' Convention of 1709, everyone knows that."
"That's true, but not everyone knows about it," said Cedric. "Only those who are interesting in jobs for the Department of Magical Creatures, or working with dragons, would know that."
"It's hard to stop Muggles from noticing us if we're keeping dragons In the back garden – anyway, you can't tame dragons, it's dangerous. You should see the burns Charlie's got off wild ones in Romania."
"Which is probably how Ron knows about them," said Cedric.
"But there aren't wild dragons in Britain?" said Harry.
"Actually, there are," Luna said.
"Of course there are," said Ron. "Common Welsh Green and Hebridian Blacks. The Ministry of Magic has a job hushing them up, I can tell you. Our kind have to keep putting spells on Muggles who've spotted them, to make them forget."
Cedric wisely kept the comment about the fact that they put spells on Muggle who spot anything that might expose them, simply because he saw Hermione's frown. He wasn't going to risk her ire by saying that.
"So what on earth's Hagrid up to?" said Hermione.
"I would think that was obvious," Luna said. "Something to do with a dragon."
When they knocked on the door of the gamekeeper's hut an hour later, they were surprised to see that all the curtains were closed. Hagrid called "Who is it?" before he let them in, and then shut the door quickly behind them.
It was stifling hot inside. Even though it was such a warm day, there was a blazing fire in the grate. Hagrid made them tea and offered them stoat sandwiches, which they refused.
"Smart," Cedric said.
"So – yeh wanted to ask me something'?"
"Yes," said Harry. There was no point beating around the bush. "We were wondering if you could tell us what's guarding the Sorcerer's Stone apart from Fluffy."
"He might not know. I mean, with how bad he can be at keeping secrets, telling him that information wouldn't be very productive," Cedric said.
Hagrid frowned at him.
"O' course I can't," he said. "Number one, I don' know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn' tell yeh if I could. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts – I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' Fluffy."
"Oh, you know, we just decided to go for a walk after dark, almost got caught by Filch, ran into Peeves, and then hid in the corridor where Fluffy was hiding," Hermione said. "Nothing special."
"Oh, come on, Hagrid, you might not want to tell us, but you do know, you know everything that goes on round here," said Hermione in a warm, flattering voice.
"Ooh, flattery. That will work," said Cedric.
Hagrid's beard twitched and they could tell he was smiling. "We only wondered who had done the guarding, really." Hermione went on. "We wondered who Dumbledore had trusted enough to help him, apart from you."
Hagrid's chest swelled at these last words.
"He's prideful; that's a bit of a downfall for him, isn't it?" Hermione said. he others nodded; it was probably why praise happened to make him willing to talk about something that he shouldn't.
Harry and Ron beamed at Hermione.
"Well, I don't s'pose it could hurt ter tell yeh that…let's see…he borrowed Fluffy from me…then some o' the teachers did enchantments…Professor Sprout – Professor Flitwick – Professor McGonagall –" he ticked off on his fingers. "Professor Quirrell – an' Dumbledore himself did somethin', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape."
"That's just going to make you guys all that much more suspicious," Cedric said.
"Snape!"
"Yeah – yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped protect the Stone, he's not about ter steal it."
Harry knew Ron and Hermione were thinking the same as he was.
The Harry and Hermione in the room, however, weren't thinking along the same lines, as they both had suspicions about different people.
If Snape had been in on protecting the Stone, it must have been easy to find out how the other teachers had guarded it.
"That does sound true, though just because you have an idea doesn't mean that you know how to get past them," Cedric said. Considering what was at stake, he had the feeling that the traps would be aimed to being unbreakable.
He probably knew everything – except, it seemed, Quirrell's spell and how to get past Fluffy.
"Somehow, I get the feeling that Hagrid, Dumbledore, and, if Hagrid does have a dragon, whoever gave him said dragon knows that information," Luna said.
"You're the only one who knows how to get past Fluffy, aren't you, Hagrid?" said Harry anxiously. "And you wouldn't tell anyone, would you? Not even one of the teachers?"
"Not a soul knows except me an' Dumbledore," said Hagrid proudly.
"That doesn't mean much; if he's drunk, he sometimes forgets what he said without realizing it. Add into the fact that he might get something else out of the deal, and, well, I'm sure we'll be seeing, or reading, what exactly happens when a gift is added."
"Well, that's something," Harry muttered to the others. "Hagrid, can we have a window open? I'm boiling."
"Can't, Harry, sorry," said Hagrid. Harry noticed him glancing at the fireplace. Harry looked at it, too.
"Hagrid – what's that?"
But he already knew what it was. In the very heart of the fire, underneath the kettle, was a huge, black egg.
"Well, at least it's not a full grown dragon," Luna said.
"I don't think that he would be able to hide it if it was a full grown dragon," Cedric said.
"Ah," said Hagrid, fiddling nervously with his beard. "That's – er…"
"Where did you get it, Hagrid?" said Ron, crouching over the fire to get a closer look at the egg.
"He recognizes it?" Hermione said.
"Remember, his older brother works with dragons," Harry said.
"It must've cost you a fortune."
"Won it," said Hagrid. "Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."
"Of course that person was glad to get rid of it. Not only is it illegal, but said person probably got the information they were looking for," Cedric scoffed.
"But what are you going to do with it when it's hatched?" said Hermione.
"Well, I've bin doin' some readin'," said Hagrid, pulling a large book from under his pillow. "Got this outta the library – Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit – it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in here. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mother's breath on 'em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' see here – how ter recognized diff'rent eggs – what I got there's a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them."
"And for good reason," Cedric said. "Their rare because their rather vicious, females more so than males, and their also poisonous."
He looked very pleased with himself, but Hermione didn't.
"Hagrid, you live in a wooden house," she said.
"Somehow, I get the feeling he isn't going to listen to you," said Harry.
But Hagrid wasn't listening. He was humming merrily as he stroked the fire.
"He's out of his mind," Hermione declared.
So now they had something else to worry about: what might happen to Hagrid if anyone found out he was hiding an illegal dragon in his hut.
"Nothing good, should it be a Slytherin or a someone like Percy," said Cedric.
"Wonder what it's life to have a peaceful life," Ron sighed, as evening after evening they struggled through all the extra homework they were getting.
"I get the feeling that that question is going to be asked many times in the future," Harry said.
Hermione had now started making study schedules for Harry and Ron, too. It was driving them mad.
"Hermione, I will tell you right now; don't bother doing that, okay?" Harry said.
Then, one breakfast time, Hedwig brought Harry another note from Hagrid. He had written only two words: It's hatching.
"We get to see a dragon hatching," Harry said, excited. Hermione shook her head.
"Harry, we have classes to go to," she said.
Ron wanted to skip Herbology and go straight down to the hut. Hermione wouldn't hear of it.
"Hermione, how many times in our lives are we going to get to see a dragon hatching?"
"We've got lessons, we'll get into trouble, and that's nothing to what Hagrid's going to be in when someone finds out what he's doing –"
"That is a good point; if you skip classes, then there is definitely a chance of being caught, and getting Hagrid in trouble," Cedric said. "Also, you shouldn't be arguing when there's a chance of that people will hear you."
"Shut up!" Harry whispered.
Malfoy was only a few feet away and he had stopped dead to listen. How much has he heard? Harry didn't like the look on Malfoy's face at all.
"You probably never do," Hermione said.
"I think it means that it looks even worse than it usually does," said Harry.
Ron and Hermione argued all the way to Herbology and in the end, Hermione agreed to run down to Hagrid's with the other two during morning break.
"I don't think that's a good idea; it might be better to head to you common room to get the invisibility cloak or even to throw off attention; perhaps even split up over going straight there," said Cedric. "Especially since there is a good chance someone overheard you."
When the bell sounded from the castle at the end of their lesson, the three of them dropped their trowels at once and hurried through the grounds to the edge of the forest. Hagrid greeted them, looking flushed and excited.
"It's nearly out." He ushered them inside.
"Harry leaned forward a bit, excited to know what was going to happen next.
The egg was lying on the table. There were deep cracks in it. Something was moving inside; a funny clicking noise was coming from it.
They all drew their chairs up to the table and watched with bated breath.
All at once there was a scraping noise and the egg split open. The baby dragon flopped onto the table. It wasn't exactly pretty; Harry thought it look like a crumpled, black umbrella.
Some sniggering was heard as Harry and Hermione pictured just that in their minds; neither Cedric nor Luna could quite capture the image well, since they'd never seen a crumpled umbrella, as magic kept it from becoming that way.
Its spiny wings were huge compared to its skinny jet black body, it had a long snout with wide nostrils, the stubs of horns and bulging, orange eyes.
It sneezed. A couple of sparks flew out of its snout.
"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid murmured. He reached out a hand to stroke the dragon's head. It snapped at his fingers, showing pointed fangs.
"I think we should stay clear of Hagrid if he mentions having a baby dragon, what do you think, Hermione?" Harry said; if the dragon already had teeth, then he didn't want to risk becoming a chew toy.
"I completely agree. It doesn't look like a dragon would make a good pet," Hermione said.
"Bless him, look, he knows his mommy!" said Hagrid.
"Hagrid," said Hermione, "how fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?"
Hagrid was about to answer when the color suddenly drained from his face – he leapt to his feet and ran to the window.
"What's the matter?"
"Someone was lookin' through the gap in the curtains – it's a kid – he's running back up ter the school."
"And that is why you shouldn't have gone straight there," said Cedric.
Harry bolted to the door and looked out. Even at a distance there was no mistaking him.
Malfoy had seen the dragon.
"Oh no, Hagrid's going to get into trouble now," Hermione fretted.
"No he won't, not if Malfoy hold true to the Slytherin ways," said Cedric.
"Which are?" Harry said.
"Blackmail. He's got valuable blackmail on you guys, which he'll probably try to use. Of course, Malfoy's also an idiot, so he just might not do anything with it, so long as you don't leave it for him to realize," said Cedric. "I hope you can convince Hagrid to get rid of the dragon; without it, Malfoy has nothing on you other than his word, and, as a Slytherin, it's not worth much in school, not without proof."
Something about the smile lurking on Malfoy's face during the next week made Harry, Ron, and Hermione very nervous. They spent most of their free time in Hagrid's darkened hut, trying to reason with him.
"Just let him go," Harry urged. "Set him free."
"That's actually a bad idea," said Cedric. When he saw the looks toward him, he clarified what he meant. "If Hagrid were to let him go, there'd be a dragon on the loose, which could end up hurting the students at the school."
"I can't," said Hagrid. "He's too little. He'd die."
"Of course, you can always go with Hagrid's reasoning," Hermione said, shaking her head.
They looked at the dragon. It had grown three times in length in just a week. Smoke kept furling out of its nostrils. Hagrid hadn't been doing his gamekeeping duties because the dragon was keeping him so busy. There were empty brandy bottles and chicken feathers all over the floor.
"I've decided to call him Norbert," said Hagrid, looking at the dragon with misty eyes. "He really knows me now, watch. Norbert! Norbert! Where's Mommy?"
"He's gone mental," Cedric said, wide eye.
"He's lost his marbles," Ron muttered in Harry's ear.
"Hagrid," said Harry loudly, "give it two weeks and Norbert's going to be as long as your house. Malfoy could go to Dumbledore at any moment."
"No, he'd either go to his father or Snape, with the former being most likely to cause trouble," said Cedric. "Dumbledore would never sack Hagrid, or send him to jail."
Hagrid bit his lip.
"Hagrid must know that having Norbert kind of goes back on the trust that Dumbledore shows him," Hermione said. The others nodded.
"I – I know I can't keep him forever, but I can't jus' dump him, I can't."
Harry suddenly turned to Ron.
"Charlie," he said.
"That's brilliant, Harry," Cedric said, nodding his head, already able to know exactly what Harry was planning.
"What?" Hermione asked.
"Harry suggesting Charlie, who works with dragons…" was the only prompting needed before Hermione realized exactly what was going on.
"That is a good idea," she said.
"You're losing it, too," said Ron.
"I don't think he's getting it," Hermione said.
"I'm Ron, remember?"
"No – Charlie – your brother, Charlie. In Romania. Studying dragons. We could send Norbert to him. Charlie can take care of him and them put him back in the wild!"
"Yes that would definitely work. Now, you just need to figure out how to get him there," Luna said.
"Brilliant!" said Ron. "How about it, Hagrid?"
And in the end, Hagrid agreed that they could send an owl to Charlie to ask him.
The following week dragged by. Wednesday night found Hermione and Harry sitting alone in the common room, long after everyone else had gone to bed. The clock on the wall had just chimed midnight when the portrait hole burst open. On appeared out of nowhere as he pulled off Harry's invisibility cloak. He had been down at Hagrid's hut, helping him feed Norbert, who was now eating dead rats by the crate.
"It bit me!"
"That's not good," Cedric said.
he said, showing them his hand, which was wrapped in a bloody handkerchief. "I'm not going to be able to hold a quill for a wee. I tell you, that dragon's the most horrible animal I've ever met, bit the way Hagrid goes on about it, you'd think it was a fluffy little bunny rabbit. When it bit me he told me off for frightening it. And when I left, he was singing it a lullaby."
"Hagrid," Hermione huffed. How could he, after seeing the dragon bite someone, defend it?
There was a tap on the dark window.
"It's Hedwig!" said Harry, hurrying to let her in. "She'll have Charlie's answer!"
The three of them put their heads together to read the note.
Dear Ron,
How are you? Thanks for the letter – I'd be glad to take the Norwegian Ridgeback, but it won't be easy getting him here. I think the best thing will be to send him over with some friends of mine who are coming to visit me next week. Trouble is, they mustn't be seen carrying an illegal dragon.
"True, they could get into trouble doing that," Cedric said.
Could you get the Ridgeback up the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday? They can meet you there and take him away while it's still dark.
"Well, we have the invisibility cloak," said Harry. "It should fit over us."
Send me an answer as soon as possible.
Love, Charlie
"It might be the only chance we're going to get," Hermione said.
They looked at one another.
"We've got the invisibility cloak," said Harry. "It shouldn't be too difficult – I think the cloak's big enough to cover two of us and Norbert."
It was a mark of how bad had the last week had been that the other two agreed with him. Anything to get rid of Norbert – and Malfoy.
"I think we'll have more luck with the former rather than the latter," said Hermione.
"I fear she is right," Cedric said.
There was a hitch. By the next morning, Ron's bitten hand had swollen to twice its usually size. He didn't know whether it was safe to go to Madam Pomfrey – would she recognized a dragon bite?
"Possibly, but she wouldn't tell or anything. She knows that if she doesn't, people will be even more less likely to go to her than they already are," said Cedric.
By the afternoon, though, he had no choice. The cut had turned a nasty shade of green. It looked as if Norbert's fangs were poisonous.
"It's not just my hand," he whispered, "although that feels like it's about to fall off. Malfoy told Madam Pomfrey he wanted to borrow one of my books so he could come and have a good laugh at me. He kept threatening to tell her what really bit me – I've told her it was a dog, but I don't think she believes me – I shouldn't have hit him at the Quidditch match, that's why he's doing this."
"Stupid Malfoy," said Harry.
"I'm pretty sure she knows that it's not a dog," said Cedric.
"Ron needs to hit Malfoy harder next time," said Hermione. Luna sniggered while the other two gaped at her.
Harry and Hermione tried to calm Ron down.
"It'll all be over at midnight on Saturday," said Hermione, but this didn't soothe Ron at all. On the contrary, he sat bolt upright and broke into a sweat.
"Midnight on Saturday!" he said in a hoarse voice. "Oh no – oh no – I've just remembered – Charlie's letter was in that book Malfoy took, he's going to know we're getting rid of Norbert."
"Why would he keep it in a book instead of giving it to one of us?" Harry said, shaking his head.
Harry and Hermione didn't get a chance to answer. Madam Pomfrey came over at that moment and made them leave, saying Ron needed sleep.
"Word to the wise: hope you never have to be in Madam Pomfrey's grasp for longer than an hour. She will shoo all friends away, even though they could end up helping you more than you would think," said Cedric. "At least, they help keep your mind off of the pain you might be feeling."
"It's too late to change the plan now," Harry told Hermione. "We haven't got time to send Charlie another owl, and this could be our only chance to get rid of Norbert. We'll have to risk it. And we have got the invisibility cloak. Malfoy doesn't know about that."
"At least there's that," Hermione said.
They found Fang the boarhound sitting outside with a bandaged tail when they went to tell Hagrid, who opened a window to talk to them.
"Poor Fang," said Luna.
"I won't let you in," he puffed. "Norbert's at a tricky stage – nothin' I can't handle."
When they told him about Charlie's letter, his eyes filled with tears, although that might have been Norbert had just bitten him on the leg.
"Would Norbert be able to poison Hagrid?" asked Hermione, worried.
"Not sure. I mean, obviously, he's got to be tougher than others to be able to deal with certain things, but I don't know if he's immune to poison," said Cedric.
"Aargh! It's all right, he only got my boot – jus' playin' – he's only a baby, after all."
The baby banged its tail on the wall, making the windows rattle.
"Not sure if something strong enough to make windows rattle can be considered a baby," said Harry.
Harry and Hermione walked back to the castle feeling Saturday couldn't come quickly enough.
They would have felt sorry for Hagrid when the time came for him to say good-bye to Norbert if they hadn't been so worried about what they had to do. It was a very dark, cloudy night, and they were a bit late arriving at Hagrid's hut because they'd had to wait for Peeves to get out of their way in the entrance hall, where he'd been playing tennis against the wall.
"Damn, that's going to take down away some of your time," said Cedric. "Of course, since Malfoy also now knows, he'll most likely get caught and take some of the attention off of you. Then again, if Filch or Snape hears about it…well, they could try to trap you," he added.
Hagrid had Norbert packed and ready in a large crate.
"I think the first thing you need to do is figure out how to do lightweight charms; they'd be a big help," said Cedric.
"He's got lots o' rats an' some brandy fer the journey," said Hagrid in a muffled voice. "An' I've packed his teddy bear in case he gets lonely."
"Poor teddy," said Hermione.
From inside the crate came ripping noises that sounded to Harry as though the teddy was having his head torn off.
"I don't think the teddy is appreciated," said Harry.
"Bye-bye, Norbert!" Hagrid sobbed, as Harry and Hermione covered the crate with the invisibility cloak and stepped underneath it themselves. "Mommy will never forget you!"
"Poor Hagrid," Luna said.
How they managed to get the crate back up to the castle, they never knew. Midnight ticked nearer as they heaved Norbert up the marble staircase in the entrance hall and along the dark corridors. Up another staircase, then another – even one of Harry's shortcuts didn't make the work much easier.
"There really isn't an easier way to get up to the tower that I know of," said Cedric.
"Nearly there!" Harry panted as they reached the corridor beneath the tallest tower.
Then a sudden movement ahead of them made them almost drop the crate.
"Don't drop it!" Luna said.
Forgetting that they were already invisible, they shrank into the shadows, staring at the dark outlines of two people grappling with each other ten feet away. A lamp flared.
Professor McGonagall, in a tartan bathrobe and a hair net, had Malfoy by the ear.
"Like I said, Malfoy would take some attention off of you. However, since it's McGonagall who got him, well, I'd do everything to make sure you didn't get caught by Filch," said Cedric.
"Detention!" she shouted. "And twenty point from Slytherin! Wandering around in the middle of the night, how dare you –"
"No one has the right to wander around at night," said Hermione, sounding like a stern teacher as she improvised what else Professor McGonagall said. The others laughed, both at her words, and at the fact that she couldn't really talk, since she was wandering around at night.
"You don't understand, Professor. Harry Potter's coming – he's got a dragon!"
"What utter rubbish! How dare you tell such lies! Come on – I shall see Professor Snape about you, Malfoy!"
"Okay, that's funny. He's telling the truth, but no one believes him," laughed Harry.
"Which makes me wonder what we're going to say if we end up getting caught," said Hermione. Harry stopped laughing; he hadn't thought of that
The steep spiral staircase up to the top of the tower seemed the easiest thing in the world after that.
"Oh, so that's all we needed, to see Malfoy get into trouble, in order to move the box," said Hermione, shaking her head. "How could we have not realized it?"
Not until they'd stepped out into the cold night air did they throw off the cloak, glad to be able to breath properly again. Hermione did a sort of jig.
"I think you're happy," said Harry.
"Malfoy's got detention! I could sing!"
"Don't," Harry advised her.
"I think that's more of a warning than what I think of your singing. I honestly don't think I've ever heard you sing in the book, so…" Harry quickly said, so that she didn't feel hurt.
"It's okay, Harry, I know what you probably meant," said Hermione.
Chuckling about Malfoy, they waited. Norbert thrashing about in his crate.
"Uh-oh," said Cedric. "There's no way that wasn't noticed."
About ten minutes later, four broomsticks came swooping down out of the darkness.
Charlie's friends were a cheery lot. They showed Harry and Hermione the harness they'd rigged up, so they could suspend Norbert between them. They all helped buckle Norbert safely into it and then Harry and Hermione shook hands with the others and thanked them very much.
"I think we are definitely thankful," said Hermione.
At last, Norbert was going…going…gone.
They slipped back down the spiral staircase, their hearts as light as their hands, now that Norbert was off them. No more dragon – Malfoy in detention – what could spoil their happiness?
"Why do I get the feeling that we're going to find out?" said Harry.
The answer to that was waiting at the foot of the stairs. As they stepped into the corridor, Filch's face loomed suddenly out of the darkness.
"Oh, no, please don't say…" Hermione started.
"We did," said Harry. They'd forgotten the invisibility cloak.
"Well, well, well," he whispered, "we are in trouble."
They'd left the invisibility cloak on top of the tower.
Harry shook his head, mentally berating himself. How could he have left the invisibility cloak, especially when one considered it's importance to him? He didn't have anything of his parents; that's what that cloak was. So how could he have forgotten it?